Hezbollah Dismisses ‘Baseless’ Israeli Claim Half of Commanders Have Been Killed

Says only a handful were slain

Hezbollah sources commented in the media on yesterday’s claim from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that half of the commanders in Hezbollah have been killed and the other half “are in hiding and abandoning the field.” The group maintains the claim is “untrue and baseless.”

Gallant’s comments garnered a lot of publicity yesterday, although there were questions about its validity as few specifics were provided. Israeli often makes claims about commanders killed without offering any details as to what the putative commander’s actual role was.

Hezbollah sources say that only a handful of commanders at a meaningful level have been killed, and that the number “does not exceed the number of fingers on one hand.” Estimates from the Israeli press put the number of brigade commanders killed at six, although even that figure is uncertain.

The Hezbollah sources speculated the main purpose of the defense ministry’s claim was to raise Israeli Army morale by giving the appearance of progress following the many, many attacks in the south.

Elsewhere, Israel continued attacks today in eastern Lebanon, hitting a fuel truck in the area of Durin, just southwest of Baalbek, damaging the truck and wounding the driver. Israel did not comment on why the fuel truck was targeted.

Most Israeli attacks, as usual, continued to target southern Lebanon, with the army reporting strikes in Maroun el-Ras, Markaba, and Ayta al-Shaab. The attacks in Maroun el-Ras caused damage to several buildings and infrastructure but caused no casualties.

The attacks come a day after missile strikes in the town of Hanin that destroyed a house and killed a woman and her niece. Six other civilians were reportedly recovered, wounded, from the rubble of the home.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.